


Room for Love

by FortheLoveofPlots



Category: Lost in Space (TV 2018)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Arranged Marriage, Angst with a Happy Ending, Arranged Marriage, F/M, Fluffy, Found Family, Love, Romance, Slow Burn, slight AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-08
Updated: 2020-02-01
Packaged: 2021-02-27 12:33:39
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,785
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22177102
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FortheLoveofPlots/pseuds/FortheLoveofPlots
Summary: AU: Any colonist over age 18 and unmarried was assigned a ‘colony life partner.’ With so few options on Alpha Centauri, it was the easiest way to ensure the colonists would pair up in a timely fashion and start reproducing.Judy stared at the email with her assignment for the umpteenth time since she received it two months ago. She was expected to eventually marry this ‘Bradley Adams,’ cohabitate with him, have sex with him and birth exactly two of his children.Where was the room for love?
Relationships: John Robinson & Judy Robinson, Judy Robinson & Don West, Judy Robinson & Maureen Robinson, Judy Robinson & Penny Robinson, Judy Robinson & Will Robinson, Judy Robinson/Don West, Penny Robinson/Vijay Dhar, The Robinsons & Don West
Comments: 38
Kudos: 118





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This will have multiple chapters and a happy ending.
> 
> It will be a while before this fic gets heated. I may have to later change the rating to explicit.
> 
> Penny and Vijay may be featured on the side in later chapters as they both feel the pressure to find a partner before they are assigned one. But their story won’t be sexually explicit.

Bradley Adams  
Age: 21  
Gender: Male  
Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual  
Profession: Architect  
Assigned Colony Life Partner: Judy Robinson  
Ethnicity: Caucasian  
Height: 6’ 3”  
Hair color: Blond  
Eye Color: Blue  
Contact information: ———

Judy Robinson  
Age: 18  
Gender: Female  
Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual  
Profession: Medical Doctor (still in training)  
Assigned Colony Life Partner: Bradley Adams  
Ethnicity: African American  
Height: 5’ 5”  
Hair color: Brown  
Eye color: Brown  
Contact information: ———

It was the night before the Robinsons and the 24th colonist group would head to a week long orientation before boarding the Resolute. Nobody in the house could sleep. Judy Robinson couldn’t sleep for a different reason. Or maybe her family was also worried about the same thing. 

Judy was the only Robinson assigned a ‘colony life partner.’ She just made the cut. Any colonist over age 18 and unmarried was assigned one. With so few options on Alpha Centauri, it was the easiest way to ensure the colonists would pair up in a timely fashion and start reproducing. 

Thank God Penny wasn’t old enough to be subjected to this. She would have a chance to apply to partner with somebody she knew before she turned 18. That did put a different kind of pressure on Penny though: find your perfect life partner in less than three years or be assigned one.

Judy had taken a lengthy survey to help match her with the best suited partner. But still.

Judy stared at the email with her assignment for the umpteenth time since she received it two months ago. She was expected to eventually marry this man, cohabitate with him, have sex with him and birth exactly two of his children. And she didn’t know anything else about him. He hadn’t responded to her request to meet before they left on the Resolute. 

Judy knew his name was Bradley Adams. She didn’t know if he went by Brad. Would she have to become Judy Adams? She hoped Bradley would be okay with her deciding to keep her last name. 

Judy knew he was an architect: a respectable profession and needed at the colony. He was probably somewhat smart. 

She knew he was tall, too tall for her in her opinion. 

She knew he was white. This was fine but she didn’t know how he was taking being assigned a black life partner. She hoped he wasn’t prejudiced.

She didn’t know if he was talkative or quiet, how athletic he was, what foods he liked, if he was funny. Most of all, Judy just wanted to know if Bradley Adams was kind.

Judy was both dreading and looking forward to meeting him. He could be the man of her dreams. Or he could be mean, boring, ugly, prejudiced. 

She would find out soon.

___________________________________

The Robinsons didn’t live far away from the Resolute Project’s Earth based command since Maureen Robinson had worked there. They were some of the first colonists to arrive. 

As such, they were eating late breakfast in a fairly empty cafeteria at the base.

As Judy pushed her tray down the line, a really handsome twenty-something-year-old man swaggered in and got into line behind her. 

Part of Judy wondered if this was Bradley. No wait-Bradley was blond. This man had dark brown disheveled hair. He had stubble on his face and dark eyes. He looked like he was maybe Hispanic or Latino. He was tall but not freakishly tall. Not Bradley. 

Judy listened as he tried to sweet talk a cafeteria worker into giving him an extra serving of cake.

“Come on, you know the rations I’m going to be eating in a week taste like dirt,” said the man. “Have pity on me. I’ve got to enjoy my short time on Earth.”

Judy took her seat with her family. She was glad this man wasn’t her assigned husband. She also resolved to savor every meal left before she left Earth.  
___________________________________

Judy’s first meeting with Bradley Adams was anticlimactic. 

On day one of orientation, all of the colonists assigned life partners were brought into the largest assembly room. Tables and chairs were set up with paper numbers stuck to them. As they came in, they checked in at the front table and found their assigned numbers.

Bradley Adams was already seated at their assigned table when Judy arrived. He didn’t stand up but he reached out to shake her hand. She took it and he met her firm handshake. 

“Bradley?” She asked 

“Yeah, just Brad is fine. Judy?” he said.

“Yeah,” she said. 

“I’m not sure what to say or do in this situation but it’s nice to meet you,” he said. 

“Yeah me either but at least they gave us suggestions,” she joked as she took her seat, referring to the sheet in her hands suggesting some ice breakers and topics of conversation.

“Yeah,” he said.

“I’m really nervous,” Judy admitted. “This whole situation is kind of weird.”

“Totally,” Bradley said. He looked a little relieved and a bit of the tension left his shoulders. 

They chatted. Judy learned that her future husband went to Cornell for his undergraduate degree and Harvard for his masters. During undergrad, he played lacrosse and pledged a fraternity, Alpha Delta Phi. 

Judy told him about training with the Resolute Project’s accelerated M.D. program. She didn’t have much time for undergraduate activities but she told him how she was all-state in track in high school and that she enjoyed running. 

Bradley seemed nice enough. And he wasn’t ugly. He was actually somewhat handsome: blond and blue-eyed rich, athletic fraternity boy pretty. If you liked that sort of thing. Judy tried to picture what their kids would look like. 

Bradley didn’t have a favorite book. And in Judy’s opinion, he asked her way too early in the conversation whether she could cook. He said he couldn’t cook very well. 

At the end of their meeting, Brad went in for an awkward hug and Judy accepted it. 

When Judy joined back up with the other Robinsons, she could tell they were bursting with questions but they didn’t want to overwhelm her.

“How was he?” Her mom asked.

“He seemed okay. It’s hard to tell from one short meeting,” said Judy honestly.

“Was he nice to you?” Her dad asked. He had concern written all over his face.

“Was he cute?” Penny interjected jokingly.

“He was nice and polite and he was not ugly,” Judy said.

Judy filled them in on everything she learned. The whole Robinson family would meet Brad and his family on day two of orientation. 

That meeting was more eventful. It was in a small private room reserved for the occasion. They had an hour until they had to get out and make room for the next families. 

When the Robinsons arrived, the previous group was still chatting amicably, not even aware of the time. The young couple seemed enamored with each other. The group politely left the room to move to a public meeting space and continue their conversations.

The Adams family arrived ten minutes late. Mr. Adams had gray hair but Mrs. Adams and Brad’s sister, Emily, had blond hair. All of them were freakishly tall. 

Maureen Robinson got up from her chair and greeted everyone warmly with hand shakes. John and the kids followed suit. 

Brad’s parents and sister shook hands less enthusiastically and shook Judy’s hand reluctantly. Brad shook everybody’s hands more warmly and smiled tensely as if trying to make up for his family’s rudeness. 

Judy was instantly offended. But she hoped she was misinterpreting things. Maybe they were just nervous. It was, after all, a really bizarre situation.

After cursory introductions, the Adams family sat there quietly.

“Well it’s nice to finally meet you all,” Maureen said. “Even though this is extremely awkward. It’s a weird situation huh?” She laughed a little, clearly trying to ease the tension in the room. Brad forced a chuckle but his parents’ faces remained impassive. 

“It is an extremely unpleasant situation,” Mrs. Adams said while staring straight ahead. Judy was definitely offended now and she could tell her dad was clenching his jaw. Penny could never hide anything; her eyes grew wide.

“Mom,” Brad warned.

“It’s not the fault of anyone present,” said Mr. Adams. There was a pause.

“So where are you from?” Asked Maureen with forced cheerfulness. 

A stilted conversation proceeded. Maureen did her best to remain amicable and keep the conversation going. But it was really hard: Brad did a lot of the talking because his parents seemed reluctant to answer and his 14-year-old sister seemed reluctant to talk at all. More than once Mr. Adams glanced at his watch. Brad kept shooting Judy apologetic looks. 

So much for Emily and Penny being friends.

Then Mrs. Adams asked about Judy’s parentage. 

“Is Judy adopted or-“ Mrs. Adams trailed off. 

Judy didn’t like her tone. Maureen began to say something but then Judy interrupted to explain curtly how Maureen’s first husband and her birth father died before she was born working on the Alpha Centauri program. 

“I see,” Mrs. Adams said. 

Judy decided then she didn’t like Mrs. Adams and never would. Not that Judy needed her to say ‘I’m sorry for your loss’ or any of that but she was beginning to realize that Mrs. Adams didn’t like Judy and she had a sinking suspicion it had to do with her skin color.

“We just think the program should have taken more factors into consideration,” interjected Mr. Adams.

“Excuse me?” John said.

“Mom, dad!” Brad warned in a low voice. 

“Do you know the Watanabes?” Mrs. Adams said undeterred by her son’s warning and butchering the Japanese name. She continued without waiting for an answer. “They are personal family friends of ours. We think the program did a lovely job making a match for Aiko Watanabe with a nice young man named Himi Taro, I think. They go well together. They even both speak Japanese in addition to standard English.”

Judy instantly knew what Mrs. Adams was getting at. All of the Robinsons looked livid. John and Judy stood abruptly.

“Are you saying-“ John began.

“Wait, dad, let me,” said Judy. He acquiesced. 

“Are you insinuating that this is an ‘extremely unpleasant situation’ because your son is assigned to marry a black woman?” said Judy in the calmest tone she could manage.

“No, I’m sure that’s not what they meant,” began Brad. Emily rolled her eyes.

Mrs. Adams said, “we did not mean to offend anybody. But wouldn’t it be better if-“

“If your son married a white girl and had blond babies?” Judy said less calmly than before. Mrs. Adams just pursed her lips. Penny gasped a little and looked between all the faces in the room rather obviously.

Brad jumped up.

“Judy, I am so sorry for my family’s behavior,” he said. 

“Bradley Adams!” Mrs. Adams interjected but he continued. 

“I do not share their opinion and I accept the assignment quite willingly. I-I think we should go and I’ll talk to you another time Judy.”

“I think that would be best,” Maureen said. She looked close to tears.

“Mr. and Mrs. Robinson, Penny, Will, it was very good to meet you,” said Brad. “I’m sorry about this uh-whole thing. Judy, I’ll call you um, at some point.” 

Judy only nodded. Brad looked around like he didn’t know what else to do or say as his family quickly filed out. Then he left too. 

And the Robinsons had 34 minutes to collect themselves before they had to vacate the room. 

Penny looked visibly upset. Will burst into tears and Maureen began crying softly also. John and Judy just looked pissed.

“Oh, honey,” Maureen said as she got up and enveloped Judy in a hug. 

Judy felt the anger drain out of her and be replaced by sadness and dread. She uncrossed her arms and reciprocated her mother’s hug.

John swore under his breath.

“How dare they speak to you that way, those racist bastards,” John said. “We’re going to demand a reassignment.”

“No,” Judy said. “Not yet at least. Let me think about it first. Brad seems um, fine. And I could get somebody worse.” 

Judy sighed. She was incredibly hurt and she didn’t know what to do. 

When Brad found Judy two days later, he began by apologizing profusely and begging her not to ask for a reassignment. He was off to a good start, she thought. Then he told her his parents would come around. Judy wasn’t so sure. 

_____________________________

Three weeks later, Judy and Brad had their fourth “date” aboard the Resolute (eating together in the cafeteria). Brad liked to talk. A lot. He was nice. He opened doors for Judy and walked her back to her quarters after their “dates.” But he didn’t much like to listen to Judy talk.

This time, when he walked Judy back to the Robinsons’ quarters, he kissed her.

Judy let him. She put her hands hesitantly on his shoulders and kissed him back. Brad snaked his arm around her waist and then placed his hand on her butt. Judy pulled away.

“Um, I’ll see you later,” Judy said. Brad smiled and pecked her on the lips again before taking his leave. 

Judy closed the door to her room with a sigh. She wondered if it was too late to ask for a reassignment. At least she was already a workaholic so she wouldn’t be home too often she thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise Don West will feature in the next chapter. This first chapter was just a lot of set-up. 
> 
> Please leave feedback, suggestions, or even prompts for other fics.


	2. Chapter 2

Don told Judy to open the emergency hatch and live a little. 

It was exhilarating. She had been stressed for days, years really. This was pure fun. And why not enjoy herself a little? They were still getting to where they needed to be.

She laughed with Don and Aiko when she sat back down. Don’s smile made her heart flutter a little. 

Don West was so different from Bradley Adams, thought Judy. She was taken aback by her own thoughts; why would she be comparing them? 

Judy’s communicator chimed. Brad had sent her a message: come see me when you get back please? Stay safe. 

“Who is it?” Aiko asked.

“Um, it’s just Brad,” said Judy. “He’s my...” she trailed off. 

“Your assigned life partner,” Don finished for her. “I always thought all that assigned life partner crap was fucked up. Is he at least good looking?”

“I’m not answering that,” Judy said. “It’s none of your business.”

“So he is ugly,” Don joked. “Well maybe he has a great personality.”

Judy looked out the window and attempted to give Don the cold shoulder. The fun atmosphere was gone.

A little while later, the chariot Peter was driving began making an unsettling rattling noise so Victor stopped the caravan to have Don look at it. 

Everyone got out to stretch their legs while Don popped open the hood of the chariot.

Aiko approached Don. No one else was around but she whispered to him.

“The subject of Judy and Brad is a touchy one for her,” Aiko said. “He seems fine. But his parents wanted–probably still want–a reassignment.”

“Why?” Don asked, looking over at Judy. He could not imagine how anybody could meet Judy and not immediately be enamored with her. “She’s like daughter-in-law goals.”

“Because she’s half-black and Brad’s family is white and racist,” Aiko said bitterly.

Don looked from Aiko to Judy. He nodded at Aiko to indicate he understood not to broach the subject again and she walked away.

“Damn,” he said under his breath as he turned back to the chariot. 

That was fucked up. Judy didn’t deserve that. On top of being assigned a husband she was expected to procreate with, she was assigned racist in-laws. And if his parents were so racist, what kind of prejudices did the guy harbor?  
________________________________________

Don drove Judy to Evan’s family’s Jupiter. He stood next to her as she delivered the horrible news. His family, of course, broke down crying. But they had the presence of mind to tell Judy it wasn’t her fault before asking them both to give them some time alone.

Don and Judy walked out of the Jupiter and toward the chariot. Only then, did Judy break down crying.

“Hey, you did everything you could Dr. Robinson,” Don said. “I saw it myself: how hard you fought.” 

Judy nodded slightly. At the same time it seemed, they both reached for each other. Don wrapped his arms around her and let her cry into his chest. 

Don was close to tears too. For Evan. And a bit for Judy who had tried her best but would have to live with this.

“I know-I know that this happens sometimes,” Judy said. “They prepared me for this in medical school. They said—but this is the first time I’ve ever actually lost a patient.” 

“You did your best,” said Don. “You did as well as any doctor could have. He just couldn’t be saved.”

Eventually, Judy dried her eyes and pulled away. They got in the chariot and drove back to the Robinsons’ Jupiter. 

When they arrived, a tall blond man was waiting by the ship. Don guessed this was Brad. He instantly didn’t like the guy.

Judy surprised Don by hugging him quickly as she said goodbye.

“Thanks for everything,” she said. 

“No problem, doc,” he said.

Don walked away before he could be introduced to Brad. 

“Who was that?” Brad asked while sending a suspicious look at Don’s retreating form. 

“A friend,” Judy said.

“He’s a mechanic?” Brad asked with a bit of disdain.

“He is,” Judy said with a bit of defiance in her voice. She sighed. “So why did you want to see me?”

Brad got a soft smile on his face as he pulled Judy in by her waist. He began kissing her before Judy could stop him. Judy pulled away quickly. 

“I’m sorry,” she said with a firm hand on his chest. “It’s just that Evan died on the mission. I couldn’t save him. And I don’t really feel like um, this.”

“Oh, baby, of course, of course,” Brad said as he pulled her into a hug. Judy was glad he understood. But for some reason, she didn’t find his embrace as comforting as Don’s, even though she knew Brad better. 

She chalked it up to Don being there when Evan died, going through it with her.

________________________________________

Three days later and Don still couldn’t get Judy Robinson out of his brain. She was beautiful and smart and brave and so opinionated and sure of herself that it was kind of annoying but also endearing.

He told himself his crush was stupid. Was he a masochist? Judy Robinson was going to Alpha Centauri where she would marry Bradley Adams and have exactly two of his babies. And Don would spend the rest of his days ferrying colonists on the Resolute.

But also, they might all die in a few days.

Don was rounding a corner of the gutted Jupiter when he came across Judy and Brad having a heated conversation. He ducked into a doorway and hid.

He shouldn’t be eavesdropping but there he was.

“My dad could die. We could all die,” pleaded Judy. “Please, Brad, do it for your family, for everyone, for my dad, for me.”

“I’m really sorry Judy but my mom isn’t okay with it,” he said. “It’s too dangerous and it won’t work. Your dad and I would get killed and we would all be no closer to getting off this planet.”

Don had helped Maureen run the numbers. He knew Brad had a 26 second cognitive recovery time, the second best of all the adult colonists on the planet. Judy was trying to convince Brad to strap himself into essentially a tin can with John Robinson and hurtle into space with little chance of survival for a chance to save them all.

Don didn’t think he would have the guts to do it if asked. But then again he didn’t have a family or a fiancé to look out for, to owe anything to. Brad did.

Brad leaned down to kiss Judy and she avoided him before storming away without another word.

When Maureen told Don he should take on the mission with John, Don said there was no way he would do it.

Judy followed Don into the hallway and asked him what it would take to get him to do the right thing.

She didn’t walk away after Don initially refused. She believed in him like she apparently didn’t believe in Brad.

Apparently all it would take to get Don West “to do the right thing” was Judy Robinson’s puppy dog eyes.  
_______________________________________

Don West did not cry often. He had cried just a little while ago. But he could cry all over again seeing the Jupiter 2 come closer as the harpooned spaceship rubble John and he were clinging to was reeled in.

When they were finally pulled into safety and the Jupiter 2’s door was shut, John collapsed into his daughters’ waiting arms. They were all making that half-sobbing, half-laughing noise that comes from feeling so many emotions at once. 

Don smiled softly at the sight. He didn’t expect anybody to reach for him next. Somebody caring about him was a foreign experience. 

Judy got to him first. She broke away from her dad and rushed over to wrap her arms around Don and squeeze hard. Her head was on his chest. In the back of his mind he wished he wasn’t wearing his space suit because then the embrace would be much more intimate and less awkward. 

He belatedly wrapped his arms around her and tilted his head down so his nose was pressed into her curls. 

Don didn’t get a lot of hugs. He couldn’t remember the last one. And he didn’t foresee a lot of opportunities to hug the wonderful, beautiful Judy Robinson in his future and he had almost died so he was taking full advantage.

Too soon, Judy pulled away. But she didn’t let go completely. She put one hand on his shoulder and another cupped his jaw.

His breath hitched slightly and then a second later he realized she was in full-doctor mode. She tilted his head from side to side.

“It looks like the antifreeze in your eyes shouldn’t do long-term damage,” she said. “Are you hurt anywhere?” 

“I’m just tired,” said Don, realizing just how exhausted he was now that the adrenaline was leaving his system. He sagged a little against Judy and she reached her arms around him to hold him up. 

Penny and Will were coming in for hugs now and Judy got out of the way. Simultaneously Don felt so loved by this awesome family and sad that Judy wasn’t touching him anymore. 

“Really guys, it was no big deal,” Don said, “we were only floating in space for what, like six hours? That’s nothing.”

After the hugs and the laugh-sobs though, Penny went to help John walk towards the med bay. 

Judy came back to Don’s side. She wrapped her arms around his middle and let him lean on her as she began to walk towards med bay. 

“Come on. Let’s get that suit off and I can do exams to make sure you’re both okay,” she said. 

John and Penny weren’t in med bay when they got there. John probably wanted to see Maureen and make sure everyone wasn’t about to die for some new and different crazy reason. There was always something. 

Judy began helping Don take the suit off. 

“I can do it myself. I’m not dead yet,” he joked.

Judy put her hands up in surrender and gave him a small smile. She went about getting some supplies out of cabinets while Don attempted to remove his suit.

But his limbs were like jelly and his hands were shaky so he wasn’t having much luck. Judy rolled her eyes and sighed. 

“Let me, princess,” she said.

Don let her strip layers off of him until he was only wearing his pants and an undershirt.

“And that’s all you’re getting off me,” he quipped. Judy’s cheeks flushed slightly which caused Don to blush also. 

God, she was a sight for sore eyes. Had he died and gone to heaven? Where an angel took care of him and looked at him like that? If so, Don didn’t care right then. 

Don sat on the exam table and Judy did a quick once-over since he said he wasn’t in any pain anywhere-just sore all over and some slight irritation around his eyes. 

She got out an ointment for around his eyes. When he reached to take it from her, his hands shook so she pushed his hands away. 

Then she was using her delicate fingers to rub ointment on his face, tracing the bridge of his nose, his brow, his cheek bones. 

Don couldn’t bare to keep looking into her eyes so close and full of concern. So his eyes fluttered shut and he savored the touch.

He thought it might have been the most physically intimate moment of his life. They were fully clothed and the touch was innocent but it still felt more intimate than any tryst he’d ever had. 

Did he imagine that she took longer than probably necessary? Was it wishful thinking? 

When he was less exhausted he would reign in his emotions and his imagination because Judy Robinson was a beautiful force of nature and Don wasn’t even certain he was deserving of her friendship, let alone anything more. And he was too old for her. Oh yeah, and she was betrothed to a tall, blond architect. 

Don opened his eyes and Judy’s hands stilled, cupping the sides of his face. They looked into each other’s eyes for a long, silent moment.

“I-I thought you were-“ Judy began, her eyes watery with tears threatening to spill. His heart clenched. 

Don put one of his hands over her smaller one.

“Dead? Don’t worry, it would take a lot more than that to kill Don West...and even more to kill your father. I’m beginning to think you Robinsons can’t be killed-ow!”

Judy had impulsively pushed Don in the shoulder.

“I’m serious,” She said. “I thought you were dead and it was my fault! I thought...” 

A tear did spill down Judy’s cheek. Without thinking, Don cupped her face and wiped the drop away with a swipe of his thumb. Judy leaned into his touch.

He was so close—a millisecond away—from pulling Judy into his arms and never letting her go, when John cleared his throat from the doorway.

Don dropped his hand and Judy pulled away. It was only as she took a big step back, that Don realized she had been standing between his thighs.

Don avoided John’s pointed look. If he wasn’t dead yet, John might just kill him. And Don thought he would deserve it. What the hell was he doing? 

“Come on,” John said. “We’re not out of the woods yet.”


	3. Chapter 3

For Don, living with the Robinsons (and one locked up psychopath) was really odd and kind of uncomfortable at first. 

He had never been around such a loving family for an extended period of time. And they did everything they could to include him and bring him in. It was a foreign concept. 

But there wasn’t anywhere to hide from the Robinsons on the tiny spaceship or small strip of beach. And the invitations to play cards or crowd around a tablet screen to watch a movie made him feel good. Even being assigned chores made him feel like he was a contributing member of the family. He was included in all group decisions as an equal voting member. Maureen and John and everybody actually listened to him and put weight in his opinion. 

He actually became a little less snarky. But he never lost his penchant for playful banter.

Sometimes, Maureen and John would include him in a conversation their kids weren’t privy to. 

The first time they called him in for an adults only meeting, he asked if Judy should be there. 

“No,” said John definitively and that was that.

Don felt like a respected adult member of the family despite the serious nature these meetings took on.

It also solidified in his brain that Judy was a child at 18 and he was an adult at 27. He knew he was too old for them to be-he stopped his mind from even going there. 

But a niggling thought in the back of his mind said Judy was an adult and her parents were just being protective parents.

Maureen and John definitely felt some maternal and paternal instincts for the young mechanic. But they also never knew him as a child so they didn’t have trouble letting go of the idea of him being a child. Like they did with Judy.

_________________________

On day eight of isolation on a tiny strip of beach on an unnamed planet, the group decided to build a greenhouse. It took Maureen and Will two days to design it. 

It was in the late afternoon on day four of construction. 

“Ugggg how many days have we been working on this?” Asked Penny. Her face was sweaty and she tried to wipe her brow once again but was of course unable to touch her face because of the space suit she was wearing.

“Well, we landed here on June 12th,” said Maureen while absently pounding a large stake into the ground. 

“Why are we even still paying attention to Earth dates?” Asked Penny. “Doesn’t it have to do with, you know, the Earth going around the sun and we’re never going to see that again?”

“We have to base our calendar on something,” said John with a shrug.

Will’s eyes got wide.

“Guys, today’s June 26!” Will said.

“What’s June 26?” Asked Don.

“It’s Judy’s birthday and we are all horrible!” Said Penny.

“No you’re not,” Judy laughed. “Because I forgot too!”

Then they were all laughing at that. 

Maureen and John declared work over for the day on account of Judy’s birthday. They told the kids to clean up and they would figure out a way to spend the evening doing something fun to celebrate.

Judy tried to say her birthday wasn’t a big deal and they could keep working. But Penny and Don were already inside and her parents weren’t having it. 

They ended up eating the tastiest (read as least disgusting) rations they had for dinner. 

Maureen promised there would be cake and presents on Alpha Centauri next year.

As much as Don wanted to not be stranded, his heart hurt a little thinking about the Robinsons on Alpha Centauri without him. 

Will had figured out on day six how to put together a makeshift movie projector so they all sat down to watch a movie Judy picked.

“But Judy has the worst taste in movies,” Penny whined.

“On your birthday, you can pick,” said Judy.

She scrolled through the movie options downloaded onto their tablet, clearly looking for a particular one.

She pulled up Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope. Don was impressed.

“That’s my girl,” joked John.

“This is ancient,” said Penny. 

“Penny, there’s romance in this movie,” Judy said. “You should like it.” 

Judy plopped herself down on the couch beside Don. Their thighs were touching. As the cheesy opening crawl appeared, Judy leaned into Don slightly. Seating was a bit tight so she could get away with it without being too obvious.

Christ, why did she torture him?

It was still fairly early when the movie ended, so they decided to put on episode V. Will fell asleep halfway through.

John and Maureen took that as their cue to go to bed. John carried Will to his room with some effort. He grimaced jokingly as if to say ‘this used to be easier.’

Penny left soon after, saying this was boring.

Even with more room on the couch, Judy didn’t move away. 

Don hopped up suddenly.

“Where are you going?” She asked.

“You’ll see,” he said with a wink before disappearing down the hallway. 

A minute later, he reappeared with a bottle of scotch. Judy grinned conspiratorially. 

He made sure to sit back down further away from her. 

“Don’t tell your parents,” Don said while he poured scotch into two cups. “Happy birthday, Dr. Robinson,” he said as he handed her a cup. 

Judy sniffed her drink and then took an experimental sip. Her face screwed up.

“Oooh it burns!” she said in a low voice lest the other Robinsons overhear. 

“You’ve never had alcohol have you?” Don deadpanned. He was a really bad influence on this girl.

Judy took another sip.

“No, I haven’t,” she admitted. 

“Goody two-shoes,” said Don as he poured her a little more for good measure. 

They watched the movie a little while in silence, sipping their alcohol.

“So, who is your favorite Star Wars character?” Judy asked.

“Leia,” Don said. “And not just because she’s hot.” 

Judy rolled here eyes.

“Who’s your favorite?” He asked

“Hmmmn-if I had to pick one, I guess I’d say Han Solo.”

“Really?” Don asked. It wasn’t the answer he was expecting.

Judy grinned at him.

“What can I say? I have a thing for smugglers with a heart of gold,” Judy said.

______________________

Penny’s 16th birthday came and went. They put together a tiny party but it was hard. Again, Maureen promised there would be cake and presents next year on Alpha Centauri.

Two days later, Penny knocked on Judy’s door.

“What’s wrong?” Judy asked almost immediately after Penny sat down next to her on the bed. Penny wasn’t difficult to read and Judy could read her easily. Judy put the data pad she had been reading aside. 

“I want to talk to you about something,” Penny said. She chewed her lip and Judy waited patiently. “I know I should probably be more worried about making it to Alpha Centauri, and I am. But when we get there, I’ll still have to either find somebody to apply to be with before I’m 18, in less than two years, or take a random assignment.” 

Penny paused so Judy interjected. 

“First, it’s not silly or wrong for you to be worried about this,” said Judy. “Second, we’re going to make it to Alpha Centauri. Third, the assignments aren’t completely random so it won’t be all bad.”

Penny leveled a look at Judy after the last part. She looked like she was about to say something else but then thought better of it. 

“You wouldn’t happen to have someone specific in mind to partner with?” asked Judy coyly. 

Penny flopped onto the bed and covered her face with her hands. 

“Maybe. I don’t know,” she said, her voice muffled by her hands. “There’s this boy-“

“You mean Vijay,” said Judy matter of factly. 

“Urg, yes, fine, I mean Vijay,” said Penny. “He’s nice and cute and I don’t think I would mind being partnered with him. But he’s a year older than me. He’ll be 17 soon. What if we get to Alpha Centauri after he’s 18? They could match him up right away before I even have a chance to ask him. Or we could get there with like three months until his birthday and then I’ll have to ask him ‘hey, I know this is sudden but do you want to marry me and father my children?’ Uggggh.”

Judy lay down next to her sister and began rubbing her back. 

“I won’t lie to you, the whole situation sucks and it’s not fair,” Judy said. “But Vijay’s pretty smitten. I’m sure he’d say yes to partnering with you. I bet he asks you as soon as we see him again.”

Penny looked skeptical. 

“Even if it worked out, how would I ever know if he really loves me or if he just thought I would be better than a random assignment?” Penny said. 

“He’ll show you,” Judy said. “You’ll just have to trust him.”

Penny nodded.

“The whole situation sucks,” whined Penny. 

“Yep it kind of does,” Judy said. “It seriously sucks a lot.”

Penny sat up, her face serious, and looked at Judy.

“If you could partner with Don would you?” she asked.

“It’s not that simple-“ Judy said.

“I’m not asking if the bigwig powers that be would let you, I’m asking if you would,” said Penny.

Judy tried to look anywhere but at Penny.

“Ugggh we’re too young to have to think about who we want to spend the rest of our lives with,” said Judy. But then softer, she said “yes, I would want to be with Don.”

“I knew it!” said Penny. “And Judy, mom and dad and all of us, we could make it happen! Us Robinsons are so stubborn, we could do it. None of us want to say goodbye to Don. He’s grown on us like a lovable fungus. And he’s so much better than Brad. Dad would get over the age thing. Especially since Brad is the worst.”

“Penny, Penny!” Judy shouted. “Woah-slow down. I don’t even know if Don likes me that way.” 

Penny leveled a Look at her sister.

“Seriously?” Penny said. “If you don’t believe Don is head over heels in love with you, then you’re blind and you’re beyond my help.”

_______________________

“Pass me the drill,” Don said.

Judy was helping Don install solar panels on the beach. And despite having her with him, it was incredibly boring.

“Let’s play a game,” she said out of the blue.

“We need to get this done today,” he said.

“No I mean like–like I ask you a question and you have to answer and then we switch,” she said.

“That’s just a conversation,” he grunted as he shifted a large piece of the panel into place.

“We could make it interesting,” she said. “How about the first person who can’t answer, has to take the other one’s dish duty for two weeks?”

Don was hesitant to agree.

“Don’t be chicken,” teased Judy. “We already have one of those around here.” 

“Okay-if you weren’t a doctor, what would you have done with your life?” He asked. What had he gotten himself into? This could not end well. 

“Hmmm-probably become an artist,” she mused while adjusting a panel.

“Practical,” Don said.

“Hey, it’s fantasy,” she said lightly. “What food do you miss most from Earth?”

He missed pizza. Judy missed ice cream.

He told her he’d broken his nose three times total, twice before he met her, and how he broke it. She told him her first kiss was with a boy named Mason when she was 15. 

He told her that his favorite band was Queen, he preferred dogs to cats and he saw a rainbow once when he was little in Mexico.

She told him that her favorite band was some group he’d never heard of, she preferred cats, and she’d never seen a rainbow in her life.

He told her that he missed speaking Spanish. He told her that the family member he was closest to was his abuela but she died when he was 12. He told her his birthday was September 3rd. 

Judy told him that her worst fear was being trapped in a small space. She told him about being trapped in the ice. 

Don said he was in Gryffindor and Judy said she was in Ravenclaw. 

“Do you even like Brad?” Don asked.

“He’s fine,” she hedged.

“That’s not a real answer,” he said.

“No,” she said. “I don’t like him very much. I don’t want to be with him. I’ll probably never see him again so I don’t think about it too much. Back on the Resolute, I looked into getting a reassignment but there’s a lot of red tape. And I’m worried I’d end up with somebody who’s worse, maybe mean. He’s not mean to me.”

That broke Don’s heart a little. Judy tried to catch his eye, which was no easy feat when they were both in bulky space suits.

“I don’t have a better option, do I?” she said.

Don cleared his throat. 

“Are you asking me?” he said. She nodded. There was a pause where the only sound was the waves crashing on the shore. 

“I don’t know. I can’t answer your question so I guess I lose,” said Don. He tried to avoid looking at her.

Don wanted nothing in the known-universe more than to someday live on Alpha Centauri with Judy Robinson and her family. But that was a fantasy. There were too many barriers in the way to count. And Don couldn’t give her false hope. He couldn’t give himself false hope. 

They finished installing the last panel in silence.

___________

Judy was reading on the couch in the center common area of the ship while her mom was working on something at the center table. 

John came in and saw his wife hunched over her work, worry creasing her brow. John punched some buttons on a wall panel and soft music began playing. 

It took a moment for Maureen to notice anything was going on. When she looked up, John was holding out a hand. She grinned and took it. He pulled her in and waltzed her around the room.

Judy smiled at the sight. Penny and Will walked in. 

“What‘s with the music-ew! Gross!,” said Penny.

Maureen and John chuckled. They split apart. Maureen grabbed Will and John grabbed Penny and began teaching them how to waltz.

“You should learn how to dance. It preserves Earth culture,” Maureen joked.

Don walked in to investigate the music next.

“Perfect!” said Will. “Now we have even pairs!”

Don looked around, trying to figure out what was going on.

“We’re being forced to learn to dance,” said Penny while smiling.

“Fine, I’ll join,” said Don. It hadn’t taken much convincing. “But I get to pick the next song and teach you guys something.”

He turned to Judy and held out a hand. She took it hesitantly. She wasn’t the best dancer, or at least she hadn’t had a lot of practice.

After waltzing for a while (that was easy), Don put on some Latin music and taught everyone how to salsa and then rumba. 

The Robinsons weren’t very good at it but they weren’t trying very hard. Don pretended to be exasperated. 

“Really? You people can build a super computer with bubblegum and string, but you can’t rumba?” he said. 

At that point, John and Maureen couldn’t stop laughing at each other and fumbling over the moves. Penny was leading and spinning Will around and around, also both laughing. 

Judy giggled but she tried to learn the steps. Don was a good dancer. He twirled her out and pulled her back in close. They were chest to chest and suddenly Judy wasn’t giggling. She felt very warm. She looked up into his eyes.

The song ended and Don pulled away. 

He put on a song by Van Halen and Judy tried not to be disappointed. But then Don sauntered toward her while performing his best air guitar. She laughed out loud. And then they were all dancing like goofy kids, even John and Maureen. 

John challenged Don to an air guitar battle. Penny and Judy put their hair down so they could head bang properly. It was all pretty ridiculous.

_______________

They all dispersed toward their own rooms at about the same time. It felt oddly quiet now that the loud music was off. 

Judy was still laughing and breathing heavy and so was Don as they walked the short distance to their own quarters. Her hair was thick and tangled, dancing over her shoulders. 

“What?” Judy asked. Don realized he had been staring. “Is my hair a mess?”

She began trying to pat her hair down.

“No-I’ve just never seen it down before,” said Don.

Judy stopped fussing with her hair. She smiled and took a step toward him. 

“Goodnight,” he said abruptly before turning around and making a dash for his room. 

“Don, wait-“ she said. He stopped and turned around to face her. He couldn’t say no to her. Where was his self preservation instinct?

Judy looked around the hallway before grabbing his wrist and pulling him into her bedroom and shutting the door behind them.

“Look,” she said. “We may never make it back to the Resolute, we may never make it off this beach, we could die next week or tomorrow.” 

He started to say something but he wasn’t sure what.

“Shh-let me finish,” she said. She looked determined. “Considering all that, I think we should live in the now. Yes, try our hardest to get back to civilization, but also, savor every moment we have with each other. And I want to be with you Don. And-and I think you might want to be with me too.”

Don didn’t know how to respond. Judy was so close. Her chest was rising and falling with each breath and her big doe eyes were staring straight into his. 

“I’m too old for you,” he said lamely.

“That’s an excuse,” she said. She tipped her chin up at him, trying to match his height and look at him straight on. 

“Don, if we ever get back to civilization, I promise that I-and all the Robinsons-will fight to keep you on Alpha Centauri with us, with me,” she said, whispering the last part. 

Don wanted to give in, to reach for her and hold her and kiss her and run his fingers through her hair. But he was a self-destructive idiot. 

“I should go,” he said and turned toward the door. 

Judy caught his wrist again. When he turned back to look at her, there were tears in her eyes. 

“Tell me you don’t want to be with me and I’ll never speak about any of this again,” she said. 

Don felt like his heart was splitting in two. Also, he was angry. Not really at her. But he took it out on her. 

“It’s not that simple,” he said. “If all I wanted to do was fuck you, I could easily accept.”

Judy winced at his harsh language but Don continued. 

“I’m a nobody, Judy, and you’re a Robinson, a beautiful, genius doctor headed for Alpha Centauri where you’ll marry an architect and have genius babies!” he said bitingly. “You’re the most amazing person I’ve ever met! Of course I want to be with you! But how could I be sure you wouldn’t toss me as soon as we reach the Resolute?”

“You’d have to trust me,” Judy said, her words laced with hurt and anger. 

Don could see how much his words were hurting her but he couldn’t stop himself. He was pissed at the whole situation and at himself for not being able to trust the Robinsons because he had been burned so many times before. 

“Judy, you only want me now because I’m the only option here. And if you wanted me still when we got to the Resolute, it would just be an attempt to escape Brad,” he said.

“You’re an ass,” said Judy. She glared at him through tears. 

She was right. 

“Yeah, well, I don’t deserve you,” he said. Then he left without another word.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m sorry about the note this ended on. But don’t worry, everything I write eventually ends happy.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to thank Kronicas for editing my Spanish in this chapter! ¡Muchas gracias!  
> See notes at the end for translations.

Judy was usually an early riser. She got up almost every morning before the rest of the Jupiter 2 crew did. 

That morning she took the opportunity to snag breakfast before everybody woke up so she could avoid Don.

She was already outside working in the greenhouse by the time everybody else was up.

She threw herself into work. She asked everybody except Don if they needed help with any projects. There wasn’t enough to do to keep her occupied. So she ran on the treadmill.

She avoided Don. And he avoided her. When they absolutely had to interact, their conversations were polite, short and dry. None of their usual playful banter. 

Judy missed him horribly. She hadn’t realized how much he brightened her day with his silly antics before. 

Judy wasn’t as cheerful with her family either. And Don didn’t seem so cheerful either. He found excuses when asked to play cards or watch a movie with the family. 

Three days passed like this before Penny confronted Judy. She barged into her sister’s room late one evening. 

“What happened?” Penny asked.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Judy deflected.

“You and Don were thick as thieves until about three days ago when you both started moping around and avoiding each other!” Penny said.

Judy must have had a pitiful look on her face because Penny’s expression grew softer and she sat down next to her on the bed to pat her back.

“Tell me what’s wrong?” Penny said.

So Judy told her. Minus some of the exact language used. 

“I told Don that I wanted to be with him,” she said. “And he said that I only want him because he’s the only option. And if I wanted him once we got back to the Resolute, it would only be because I was trying to escape Brad.”

“But that’s not true!” said Penny.

“I know that,” Judy said. “But he doesn’t believe me, he doesn’t trust me. And now I’ve screwed up our friendship.”

Judy leaned into her sister’s shoulder. Penny wrapped one arm around Judy and squeezed.

“He’s an idiot,” said Penny.

“No,” said Judy. “He’s just-I think he doesn’t know how to trust. And it is a difficult situation. But I don’t know how to show him that I’m for real.”

“He’s blind,” said Penny. 

For two more weeks, the cordial but obvious evasion by Don and Judy continued. Everybody was concerned, even Maureen who was usually so distracted by her work. 

___________

Don was a late riser normally. And he hadn’t been getting much sleep lately. So it was fairly late when he stumbled into the common room for breakfast. 

“Happy birthday Don!” Will said. The other Robinsons followed suit. 

“I made you extra special breakfast,” Maureen joked. There weren’t great food options aboard the ship. But she tried.

“I’m touched,” Don said. His voice was light but he seriously was touched.

He sat down to eat with the Robinsons, who were mostly finished. 

By the end of breakfast, Penny was practically bouncing in her seat.

“Okay, I can’t wait any longer!” Penny blurted out. “We have to give you your present now because I can’t wait.” 

The others laughed as Penny rushed out of the room. A few seconds later she returned with a small box. 

“This is from all of us,” Penny said. 

Don opened it, expecting a makeshift home-made gift. And it was. But it was so much better. 

It was a set of large adhesive stickers. One said ‘J2’ in large block letters. Another said ‘R-3495.’ And the third sticker said ‘DON ROBINSON-WEST.’ 

“It’s for your space suit,” Will said “So you match us!”

“If you want-you don’t have to use them,” Judy interjected. Don looked at her but she looked away.

“Wow,” Don cleared his throat. He was trying not to cry in front of everybody. “I don’t know what to say.” 

Will hugged him. Maureen squeezed his shoulder and kissed his cheek. John clapped him on the back. It was all too much. 

“Come on,” said Penny, jumping up. “Let’s go put them on!”

Don got up to follow her to where the space suits were stored. He was glad to get away from everyone’s gazes. But before he left the room, he turned around.

“Thank you,” he said. “All of you.”

Again Judy avoided looking at him. 

Penny helped Don line up the stickers exactly on the space suit. They looked really good, the lettering was precise and the colors were exactly right. Until somebody got close, they wouldn’t even be able to tell it was altered.

“Don,” Penny began. “Judy told us about your birthday. The gift was Will’s idea. But Judy painted them. She took a really long time making sure they were perfect. She did it a while ago, before...well, a while ago. Recently, she thought maybe we shouldn’t give them to you, that you wouldn’t want them.”

“I...” Don said. “I do like the present. I actually like it a lot.”

Penny nodded and began to turn away but then turned back.

“Judy-she...she really misses you,” Penny said. “She cares about you a lot. Can you at least be her friend again?” 

Don looked at Penny for a moment. Then he nodded.

“I can do that, kiddo,” he said. “I miss her too.”

John came down the hallway then as Penny walked away. He clearly wanted to speak to Don so Don waited. 

“Look, son,” he said. “We’re serious. If we ever get off this beach and back to civilization, we’ll take you to Alpha Centauri if you want. I don’t know how but we’ll make it happen. Robinsons don’t leave Robinsons behind.” 

Now Don was seriously on the verge of crying.

“I don’t think Alpha Centauri lets in dissidents like me,” Don tried to joke. But he knew it was obvious by his voice that he was choking back tears.

John clapped Don on the shoulder again and pulled him into a hug. It was only a little awkward. Don hugged him back. 

He found he actually believed John Robinson and his family would fight tooth and nail for Don to stay with them. And Don knew once the Robinsons set their minds to something, there was no stopping them. 

“I’d like that,” said Don. 

They pulled apart. A thought struck Don.

“I have to go,” Don said quickly. He began to explain but John interrupted him.

“You have to go thank Judy,” he said matter of factly and gave Don a knowing look. 

“Yes, thank you,” he said. He wasn’t sure if he was thanking John for understanding or John’s maybe implicit blessing of whatever Don and Judy’s relationship was.

Don took off at a light jog. He couldn’t find Judy in the common areas so he went to her bedroom and knocked.

As soon as she opened the door, he pulled her into a hug. She gasped a little but then wound her arms around his middle tightly. Now he couldn’t stop the tears.

“Thank you Judy,” he said sincerely. “I really like the gift. And-and I’m sorry. Can we at least be friends again?” 

Judy nodded into his chest. 

“Of course,” she said. 

_______________

It was like a weight had been lifted off Don’s chest, a weight he didn’t know he was carrying around. Judy was smiling at him again, talking with him, joking with him, confiding in him. Everyone seemed more relaxed now that Don and Judy were on good terms again.

“I think I hear her,” Will whispered to Don.

It could get pretty boring aboard the Jupiter 2 so they were playing one of the Robinson children’s favorite games: catch Debbie. Will and Don were playing against Penny and Judy. They crept down the hallway, listening.

They came around a bend and there she was, preening in all her glory. Don didn’t want to startle her so he crouched down. 

“Come on baby girl,” he said. “Come to daddy.” 

Debbie started walking toward him slowly. But then Penny and Judy came from the opposite direction and Penny came brandishing corn kernels, Debbie’s favorite treat.

“Come here, Debbie,” Penny called in a sing song voice. “I brought you corn.” 

Debbie turned and walked much quicker toward Penny.

“No fair!” Don said as he got up and ran toward Debbie. Judy also began running and that spooked the chicken. She squawked and half-ran, half-flew into the center room. 

Don and Judy were the first through the doorway. Will followed and slammed the button shutting the doorway, effectively blocking Penny for now.

“Stop Judy and I’ll catch Debbie!” Will yelled.

Don wrapped his arms around Judy’s middle from behind and picked her up. She squealed.

“No fair!” She cried, mock-hitting his arms.

“All is fair in chicken wrangling!” He said. “Get her, Will!”

“I’ll break your nose again,” she warned jokingly.

“You wouldn’t dare,” he said. 

Penny and Will yelled as they chased Debbie. Don struggled to keep a wriggling Judy trapped. 

Debbie came back through the common room with Will and Penny close behind, jostling to get ahead of one another. Penny bumped into Don who lost his balance and brought Judy down with him.

They lay there laughing with his arms still wrapped around her middle.

Then John walked in holding Debbie. 

“Really kids,” John said, while clearly trying not to smile. “Can’t you leave the poor chicken alone.”

Don let go of Judy who quickly scrambled to her feet before reaching down to help him up.

“I was totally about to catch her,” Penny said.

“No you weren’t!” Will said.

Judy smiled at him coyly. Don couldn’t help grinning. They were stranded on an unknown alien planet, light years away from human civilization. But everybody he cared about was there.

_____________

It was like nothing happened. They were ‘thick as thieves’ again as Penny said. But no, there was a difference. Because Judy caught Don’s gaze lingering on her more often. And when she caught him, he didn’t look away, he just grinned at her. He sought out her company maybe even more than usual. He even helped her when it was her turn to do dishes. 

Judy didn’t want to push him though. 

“Judy, can you help me in the hangar?” Don said. “The chariot’s engine is acting up.”

Helping Don turned out to mostly entail handing him tools. But Judy didn’t complain. She sat against the chariot, next to Don’s legs sticking out from underneath it. They were playing a version of the question game but it was all light-hearted questions. 

“Where were you born?” Judy asked.

“Buenos Aires, Argentina,” he said. “But I moved to Mexico City when I was eleven.”

“How many languages do you speak?” asked Judy.

“Mainly English and Spanish,” Don said. “I can speak some Italian and less French. Socket wrench.” 

“Hmm. I learned French in school,” she said as she passed him the wrench. “Why the hell did I take French? I’ve never gotten to use it. I really wish I took Spanish.”

“Well luckily for you, everyone who goes to Alpha Centauri must speak English,” Don said.

“It is kind of lucky for me but I also think that it’s stupid and unfair,” Judy said. “At least they are trying to diversify the colonists so other languages get preserved. But it’s kind of elitist that anybody who doesn’t know English can’t go.”

“It’s all kind of elitist,” Don said.

“That’s true,” Judy said. Then after a pause, “teach me something in Spanish?”

“Uh ‘pollo,’” Don said.

“Pollo means chicken,” Judy said, chuckling. “I’ve read Spanish menus before.” 

“Okay, um ‘una nave especial,’” he said.

“Una nave especial,” she repeated.

“Spaceship,” he said simply. 

He taught her the words for galaxy, star, planet and the tools she was passing him.

“I don’t care about tool names,” Judy giggled.

“It’s practical,” he said. “Alicates.”

“If you teach me Spanish, you’ll have somebody to speak Spanish with,” Judy said. Don didn’t reply for a second so she awkwardly added, “And we can talk without Penny and Will knowing what we’re saying. It would drive them nuts.”

“Yeah,” he chuckled. 

She asked what the Spanish words were for beach, mechanic, ice cream. 

“Can you come under here and help me with this last part?” He said. “I need an extra set of hands.”

Judy slid under the chariot next to him. 

“I need you to hold this here for a minute,” Don said. He put his much larger hands over hers and showed her what to do. 

It really did only take a minute more. Judy slid out from underneath the chariot and absent mindedly scratched her nose. Don screwed the panel back in place before sliding out next to her. 

Judy got up first and reached down to help Don up. When he was on his feet he was standing really close to her. He laughed. 

“You’ve got some grease on you doc,” he said and reached out with his thumb to rub the grease off her nose and cheek. Judy tried not to blush. 

“Aaand I am making it worse,” he said. They both laughed.

But his hand didn’t move from cupping her face, rubbing his thumb slowly across her cheek and looking down at her intently. Judy stared back at him. 

They both leaned toward each other like they couldn’t help themselves until their noses were touching. Judy didn’t dare breath. Don closed the distance and kissed her soft, and then hard. His other hand came up to cup the other side of her face and Judy mirrored him. Don pulled away just enough to press his forehead against hers. 

“Te adoro,” he said softly. 

Judy’s hands slid down to rest on Don’s chest. 

“What does that mean?” she said just as softly. 

“I adore you,” Don said before kissing her tenderly.  
______________

After that, they were like teenagers experiencing first love. 

They went on lots of pseudo dates. 

They watched nerdy movies on a tablet in one of their rooms. They sat on the beach and star gazed, making up constellations. Don gave Judy Spanish lessons. They sat and chatted. They listened to music. Don even made Judy a playlist. 

They also made out. A lot.

And somehow they managed to keep their relationship a secret from the other Robinsons. But Judy suspected her family, especially Penny, were just pretending not to notice. 

They would tell them. Just not yet. Don and Judy agreed to wait a little while. Being trapped in such tight quarters, they were all already in each other’s business too much. They wanted this just to themselves for now. 

One night, Judy was sitting in Don’s lap on his bed, kissing him. Her hair was down. She often let it down when they were alone because she knew he liked it. 

Don was rubbing his hands up and down Judy’s sides. 

Judy felt him hard against her thigh through their clothing. He made to shift their positions but Judy stopped him.

She placed both hands on his chest and said, “do you want to have sex with me?” 

“Wow, no beating around the bush huh?” He said. Judy rolled her eyes.

“I’m a 22nd-century woman. Clear communication and consent is important,” she said, sounding more confident than she felt. 

“Yes,” he said, pecking her on the lips. “I really want to have sex with you. I just thought you should initiate it.”

Don gently pushed Judy down so she was on her back and he was on top of her. He trailed greedy, searing kisses down her neck. Judy gasped. 

“Do you have protection because I don’t,” he asked in between kisses.

“IUD,” she said.

“You’ve had sex before, right?” he said. 

“Um, yes,” Judy said. Don stopped and looked at her. Why had she said it like that? 

“Judy, you can tell me,” he said tenderly.

She let out a sigh.

“I had sex once kind of,” she said, avoiding looking Don in the eyes. “It was bad. Actually really bad.”

“He made you bleed didn’t he?” Don asked. He cupped her jaw gently and tipped her face toward his. His face was so full of concern like he was upset that she had been hurt even though it was a long time ago. 

This should feel embarrassing to admit but it didn’t. He wasn’t judging her or grossed out, just concerned. 

“Yes,” she said. “He didn’t know what he was doing. And I was stupid because I didn’t know what I was doing. And we didn’t um, warm up enough so I bled everywhere. It was painful. I got freaked out so we stopped.”

Don pulled Judy up as he sat back so she was in his lap. He wrapped his arms around her.

“You aren’t stupid. I promise that it won’t hurt like that this time,” he said. “We’ll go really slow. And if you want to stop, we’ll stop. No big deal.” 

Judy’s heart clenched. He was just so sweet.

“I trust you,” she said. She kissed him sweetly, sloppily. 

She kissed up his jaw, relishing the rasp of his stubble. She wondered how it would feel against other parts of her body and she shuddered. 

Her fingers found the edge of his shirt and she tugged up on it. Don took the hint and pulled the shirt over his head, discarding it somewhere. 

Her hands roamed over him. He was muscular and covered in tiny scars. He did really have one large one that wrapped around from his chest to his back. She pushed him back onto the bed and began placing soft kisses on every scar.

Don carded his fingers through her hair. 

Judy got the sense that Don didn’t plan on pushing her so she sat up and removed her shirt and bra. 

Don nearly growled. He flipped them over in one fluid motion so he was on top of her. He nipped down her chest and then his mouth was on her breast. She squirmed under him as he sucked on one nipple. One large hand pinned her waist and his other palmed her other breast. 

Judy had previously felt self-conscious about her smaller breasts but she didn’t then while Don was worshiping them.

“Eres hermosa,” he said before moving to suck on her other breast. Judy ground her hips against his and he moaned. With her nipple still in his mouth, it felt really good.

Don kissed down the flat plane of her stomach before placing one tender kiss right above the top of her pants. He looked up at her. She nodded and raised her hips. Don stripped her pants off her. 

Then he used his teeth to pull her panties down. He might be the death of her.

She pressed her legs together instinctively. Don grasped both her thighs and looked up at her, his eyes extremely dark. 

“Judy, do you want me to eat you out?” he asked. 

She flushed and nodded emphatically.

“Yes,” she said and opened her legs for him. His large hands grasped her thighs and spread her even wider. 

He kissed the insides of her thighs before finally licking one long stroke up her outer lips. She was right, his stubble did feel really good other places. 

Judy’s hands came to rest in his hair, tugging lightly. 

He kept one hand on her hip, pinning her to the mattress. His other came down to spread her outer folds so he could nuzzle her clit. He teased it lightly with his tongue before sucking on it. 

Judy gasped and her hips bucked but his hand pressed her down. After a minute of sucking, he pressed one finger into her. She whimpered. She was already wet and compliant so he pressed another finger inside of her. 

And then he curled his fingers while sucking hard. She moaned his name.

He pumped his fingers in and out of her, even adding a third finger, while sucking on her clit. Her nails dug into his scalp and tugged harder at his hair. 

She saw white flashes and keened loudly as she experienced the best orgasm yet of her young life.

Don came up to capture her mouth with his sloppily. He was covered in her. 

“Shh!” He said. “I don’t want this to be how your family finds out we’re together.”

“So you’ve probably had sex more than a few times,” Judy said breathily.

“Yes,” he said honestly. “But never with anybody as amazing as you. It didn’t mean much before.” 

Now that Don was on top of her, she could feel him hard against her again. She felt a bit wobbly still but she ground her hips up into his. He groaned. 

She reached for the hem of his pants but Don decided it would be quicker to just do it himself. 

With nothing in the way now, Judy reached down and stroked his penis. He was big. 

“Carajo,” Don said into the crook of her neck.

“Flip over so I can-“ Judy said.

“No,” said Don. “I won’t last that long. It’s kind of been a while. Are you ready?”

Judy wrapped her legs around his waist. 

He kissed her while he sunk into her slowly. She was ready for him and the stretch was pleasant. But he didn’t move yet. 

Judy moved her hips against him a few times, taking him deeper each time. Don groaned.

“Are you good?” He asked, his voice a bit strained. 

“Yes, it feels good,” she said. “Fuck me.”

He moved against her and it felt amazing. Judy clawed at his back. He lifted one of her legs up higher and she complied. It wasn’t long before he was pounding into her at just the right spot.

“There!” she said. 

He brought one hand in between them to pinch and rub against her clit. She tried to stifle her noises but it was difficult.

Then he moved back on his knees and pulled her up with him so she was straddling his lap. One arm wrapped around her to hold her in place as they moved against each other. He swirled his tongue around one of her nipples before pulling her into his mouth. 

All the sensations were too much. Judy came again. She tried to be quiet, really she did. But she screamed a little while she clung to Don’s shoulders like an insane person.

He leaned her back onto the bed and braced himself on his elbows so he was lying pressed against her. He pounded into her. In this position, Judy could barely move, she could just hold on. 

Judy saw stars for a third time right before Don’s hips spasmed and he spent himself inside of her. He collapsed on top of her and she rubbed his back. 

He pulled out and rolled off of her and Judy immediately missed the contact. Then he pulled her to his chest and kissed her sloppily.

“Mi corazón, mi alma,” he said between lazy kisses. Judy giggled. 

Too soon he pulled away and got up off the bed.

“Where are you going?” she asked.

“To get something to clean us up,” Don chuckled. 

He went to the tiny sink in his room and soon came back with a warm wash cloth which he used to gently clean up the mess of fluids on her. 

Judy squirmed under him slightly. It was so sweet and so intimate. 

Once Don had cleaned them both up, he returned to bed. He pulled her to his chest and wrapped his arms around her.

She nuzzled her nose into his chest. It felt like she couldn’t get close enough to him. 

He kissed the top of her head and buried his face in her curls where he whispered things into her hair in Spanish. She had never felt more content than she did in that moment. 

Judy didn’t really understand most of what he was saying but she didn’t ask. She was drifting off when she caught a phrase she half-recognized. 

“Por favor nunca me dejes, mi amor,” he said.

“I will never leave you,” she said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I’m bad at drawing out the angst. I’m better at fluffy.  
> And I’m also kind of new to writing mature sex scenes. 
> 
> Translation:  
> Alicates=Pliers  
> Eres hermosa=you are beautiful  
> Carajo=fuck  
> Mi corazón, mi alma= my heart, my soul  
> Por favor nunca me dejes, mi amor=please never leave me, my love


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for my prolonged absence. I had wrist surgery so that’s my excuse. Thank you for your continued support.

Judy—unsurprisingly—woke first but she didn’t move, she just enjoyed watching Don sleep so peacefully.

Don was sleeping on his back and she was curled toward him with one of her arms over his chest and one of his arms wrapped loosely around her back. 

He looked relaxed, content. He was beautiful. 

At some point, she had put on her underwear and one of his T-shirts. The shirt was old, worn out and soft. He had put a pair of boxers on.

Judy took the time to soak him in, the hard planes of his chest and the soft curves of his lips. 

Judy heard somebody walking down the hall. She sighed. She had to get up or her family would eventually come looking for her in her room. This was definitely not how she wanted her family to find out about her and Don. 

But she couldn’t just leave without telling Don. 

She rubbed his shoulder lightly and whispered. 

“Don,” she said. “Wake up.”

He opened his eyes sluggishly. After a few moments, he seemed to take in the world around him and become somewhat awake. He grinned and the skin around his eyes crinkled. 

“Good morning, Doc,” he said, his voice low and gravelly with sleep. 

Judy smiled and pecked him on the lips. She meant to peck him on the lips, but he pulled her in for a full-blown kiss. She pulled away after a minute. 

“I want to stay,” Judy said. “But I have to go. My family will come looking for me in my room and this is really not how I want them to find out.”

Don nodded. 

“Yeah John might kill me,” he said. 

Judy got up and reluctantly discarded Don’s shirt to change into her own clothes from yesterday. Don sat up in bed and watched her. 

When she was dressed, she felt awkward. She didn’t know how to make her exit. Something in Don’s eyes made her feel like she needed to reassure him. 

“I really wish I could stay,” Judy said as she grabbed one of Don’s hands and squeezed. “We should tell them soon so I can just stay and cuddle next time.”

Don chuckled. 

“Don, I want you to know that I’m not embarrassed by you,” she said. “I’ll tell my family today if you want to. I just thought some privacy might be nice for a little while—but we can totally—“

She had started to ramble on a bit. Don had stopped her by pulling her into a tight hug. 

“I—,” he cleared his throat. “You mean a lot to me. I like having this to ourselves for now. But we’ll tell them soon.” 

They kissed goodbye and Judy left. 

____________

Don lay back down on his bed. 

Judy Robinson had slept in his bed, moaned his name while they made love, and cuddled and kissed him afterwards. She had looked at him like he was worth something. 

She had told him that she would never leave him. 

Don was quite possibly the happiest he had ever felt. 

He wanted to wake up with Judy in his arms every day for the rest of his life. The intensity of his feelings kind of scared him but he was too far gone. 

Don had been in love before but not like this. Never like this. Maybe it was the life or death situations they constantly found themselves in but he wasn’t going to read too much into it. 

Nothing could kill his mood.

He walked toward the common area for some breakfast. Penny caught him in the hallway. 

“Don,” Penny said. “Can you please take Smith her breakfast for me? I was supposed to do this thing yesterday but I forgot and now I’m trying to get it done before mom notices-“ 

“No problem,” Don said, cutting her off.

“Thanks!” Penny called over her shoulder as she jogged away.

Don didn’t like seeing Smith but he wanted to help Penny. It would just be a minute of unpleasantness.

He grabbed the rations—the least tasty ones—and put them on a tray for Smith.

“Don!” Smith cooed when he entered her makeshift cell. “I was wondering when you would come visit me. I missed you.” 

“Can it,” he said. “Here.”

She didn’t take the offered tray. 

“You look good,” Smith said. “Less tense than when I saw you last.”

Don set the tray down and moved to leave.

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell the others, scout’s honor,” Smith said. Don really tried to keep walking but he hesitated slightly. 

“Tell the others what?” Don said.

“I know you and Judy are together,” she said. “It’s obvious. And it’s understandable. You’re both young and attractive and each other’s only options. Just...don’t fall in love with her. She’ll break your heart.”

“You’re a pot stirrer, Smith,” Don said. 

“Oh no,” Smith feigned concern. “You have fallen in love with her. Oh, Don, this can never last. She’s going to Alpha Centauri and you’re, no offense, but you’re just part of the crew. She’s made you promises but even if she believes them now, she won’t keep them.” 

Don left without saying anything but he heard her last words to him through the door. 

“She’ll come to her senses when we reach civilization again,” she called. 

So something could ruin his good mood. 

He tried to shake off her words. Smith was manipulative and spiteful. But she had hit on all of his self doubts so it was difficult not to think about what she said. 

In the afternoon, he got a message to his communicator from Judy. It said:I’m still helping dad on the beach. Let's go on a date later? Dancing lessons?

Don smiled.

__________

That evening after dinner, they slipped away to the garage. 

Once the door was shut, Judy pulled Don into a passionate kiss. She had to stand on her tiptoes and gently tug him down to meet her. 

“I thought you wanted to dance?” Don said lightly, smiling. Judy mock sighed. 

“I suppose I did say that,” she said. 

Don walked away to put on some music. He danced back toward her. Judy giggled. She felt butterflies when he offered his hand to her. She took it and he pulled her close. She sucked in her breath. 

Would he ever not have this kind of effect on her? 

He walked her through the basic steps again slowly, at half-speed. 

She picked it up easily so they did the basic steps at regular speed for a song or two. 

Then Don started showing her some spins and other moves. Judy thought she was getting the hang of it. 

She was trying really hard. Don was a really good dancer. Judy wondered if he had ever picked up girls at a dance club. 

He pulled her back in from a twirl and frowned slightly. Judy’s smile faltered. 

“What is it?” Judy said. 

“You’re getting all the steps right,” Don said. “But I can tell you’re really focused on getting all the steps right. Loosen up, just feel it.”

“Easy for you to say!” Judy said. “And I don’t want to step on your toes!” 

“My toes can take it. I would mess up to make you feel more at ease but it’s literally impossible for me,” Don said. “We’re just dancing. It’s just me. You don’t have to impress me. Just have fun.”

It was just Don. He already thought she was amazing. He wasn’t dating her for her mad dancing skills and she didn’t have to think about any girls he picked up at dance clubs. They were light years away.

She smiled and she danced. 

__________

Maureen Robinson was many things. Dumb was not one of them. So why Judy and Don thought they could hide their relationship was beyond her. Maureen could tell they had been in a romantic relationship for at least three weeks. 

They were so obvious. 

Don and Judy hung out often before but almost always in the common areas of the ship. So it was more than a little suspicious when they started going missing from the common spaces. At the same time.

In all honesty, a lot hadn’t changed. Don continued to help dry dishes whenever it was Judy’s turn to clean up (that chore rotated among Judy, Will, and John). Judy still hung out with Don while he was repairing things under the guise of assisting him (periodically handing him tools). They continued to sit next to each other at every meal, game night, and family movie screening. 

But they smiled at each other more when they thought no one was looking. And there were fleeting touches. Nothing inappropriate: just friendly nudges, a brief squeeze of the shoulder, a light foot tap under the table. 

And they were both happier.

Maureen was happy for them. So she didn’t push them. 

“When are Don and Judy going to tell us that they’re together?” Maureen asked while she lay in bed with John one night before sleep. John sighed.

“So you noticed that too?” He asked rhetorically.

“I’m happy for them,” Maureen said. “He’s so much better than Brad.”

John grunted. 

“That’s a low bar,” he said. “But yeah. Don is a good kid.”

“It may help us in our quest to get Don into the colony,” Maureen said. 

“If we ever get there,” John said. 

She had previously discussed this with her husband: their plan of action to make sure Don stayed on Alpha Centauri. The only reason John was less concerned than Maureen about this topic was because he didn’t have as much faith they would get to Alpha Centauri someday.

“We will get there,” Maureen said. “And we have to prepare. I think this could help. But there’s the possibility it could have the opposite effect. The brass will not like bending their rules about who can come to the colony. He has a profession useful to the colony so that will help. And I’m confident Don can pass the requisite tests. But they won’t like that it’s ex-post-facto. He’s also not officially, in their eyes, a part of our family and the program is for families. But if he marries Judy-”

“She’s too young,” John interrupted. Maureen sent him a knowing, kind look. 

“You know as well as I that if she doesn’t marry Don, she will have to marry Brad within a few years,” Maureen said. “Unfortunately, that’s what we signed up for. A chance for a better life had some trade-offs for our children. But Judy has been lucky. She found love anyways and she’ll have a chance to be with him if I have anything to say about it.”

“Well with you on the case,” John said as he planted a kiss on Maureen’s cheek. “I’m not worried…I just wish they would finally tell us. I’m kind of curious how long they’ll wait. I would tell Don I’m not going to kill him so they can come clean, but I want him to possess a healthy amount of fear of me.”

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave feedback, comments, suggestions or even prompts for more fics if you like.


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